NASHVILLE — Raiders defensive tackle Justin Ellis is a bear of a man, even after shedding some weight this offseason. He goes 6-foot-2 and 335 pounds, with a scaled-down, James Harden-like beard and an amiable demeanor.
Ellis, in a brief interview the other day, also displayed a deft touch for cogent analysis of Oakland’s much-maligned defense.
“I feel like we had a lot of good players last year,” he said. “We just made a lot of boneheaded mistakes.”
And …
“We can’t depend on 4 all the time,” Ellis said, referring to quarterback Derek Carr by his uniform number.